bringing up ben: the bond we have with best friends

Posted by Dr. Nina Mantione
on October 22 2010Staff Veterinarian and Underwriting Support of Petplan

Ben was practically begging me to write a blog about him tonight as he attempted to stare me into taking him for a walk. I think Ben is the coolest dog I have ever met. We got him as a rescue over fouryears ago when my youngest daughter was three-months-old (did I mention that my husband is a saint?).

Ben was already almost two-years-old and had been returned twice to our local rescue. He was originally pulled from a West Virginia shelter and looks suspiciously like an English Foxhound, although sometimes I swear he is a person in a dog suit. He was returned to the rescue for once knocking a child down the stairs and again for barking too much when he was left tied outside. The first day we had him, he shoved past me, out the back door and took us on an exhilarating chase through the surrounding yards. As I chased him with a three-month-old baby in one arm and a bag of hotdog pieces in the other, I thought of ways to explain to the rescue how I lost our new dog.

Aside from that initial hiccup, Ben was really kind of a Stepford dog. He never stole food from the table, rarely barked and refrained from climbing on the couch. To top it off, he is extremely handsome.

Somewhere over the past four years we have managed to ruin a perfectly good dog. He is now a ninja when it comes to stealing food off of the counters. His expertise borders on a super power, and he can snatch a bagel in the blink of an eye. He prefers baked goods, and will circle the kitchen like a starving vulture if cookies are baking. If caught in the act and yelled at he will whimper like a scolded child.

He considers it his God-given right to lie on the couch. He had his own dedicated loveseat, until his sister, June, threw up all over it and we had to toss it. I purchased two very plush, very pricey dog beds which he refused to lay on, choosing instead to sit in front of me on the floor and give me reproachful looks while crying softly under his breath. He would retire to the dog bed with hurt looks only when my husband would say, “Ben – You are a dog, go lay on the DOG bed!”

Even though he is a hound, I have a suspicion about why he ended up in a shelter. He hates bad weather. If it is the least bit cold or raining he will poke his nose out the door, sigh, and retire to his (now grudgingly accepted) bed. If you try to drag him out to go to the bathroom, he will go limp, collapse on the floor, and do his best imitation of a peaceful protest until you give up.

Save this page for later reference
To save pages you will need to login to your account. If you do not yet have an account please register here.
We ask for your details so you can retrieve your saved pages from a secure area.

Add a comment here

Full name*

Email address*

Comment*

Rate this page

Please validate that you are human.I am a HumanI am NOT a Human

*indicates required field

By submitting comments to this blog, you are consenting to the following rules:

1. You agree that you are fully responsible for the content that you post. You may not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, that violates a third party’s right to privacy, that otherwise violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or that is otherwise inappropriate. Furthermore, you may not post content that degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Language intended to intimidate or to incite violence will not be tolerated. In addition, by posting material on the blog comments, you represent that you have the legal right to reproduce, adapt, display, and distribute this material to others. Petplan will not be held responsible for posted information that may infringe on a third party’s copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.

2. You understand and agree that Petplan may modify and republish the content of your comments. Petplan may monitor user-generated content as it chooses and reserves the right to remove, edit or otherwise alter content that it deems inappropriate for any reason. By posting you agree that your comments may be republished by Petplan online and in print.

3. You understand and agree that the blog comment areas are to be used only for non-commercial purposes. This blog prohibits any actions to solicit funds, promote commercial entities or otherwise engage in commercial activity through the blog comment function.

The information contained in this website is for illustrative purposes only and coverage under any pet insurance policy is expressly subject to the conditions, restrictions, limitations, exclusions and terms of the policy documentation issued by the insurer. Availability of this program is subject to each state’s approval and coverage may vary by state.